Merely Mortal
by jtav
Summary: Asami is trapped in the Spirit World. The only way out is enligtenment.
1. Part One

_If I do not go to the hell to help the suffering beings there, who else will go? ... if the hells are not empty I will not become a Buddha. Only when all living beings have been saved, will I attain Bodhi. -_ Kṣitigarbha

* * *

Asami rubbed her temples. She had known modernizing Republic City's infrastructure and finding a way to integrate the material and spiritual worlds would be a challenge, but she was determined to see Korra's dream fulfilled and for a new age to dawn. Some projects were easier than others. Modernizing the rail system and building a new train station wasn't one of them. She sighed.

"You've been at it for hours." Mako laid a hand on her arm. "Let's grab a bite to eat. Grandma Yin's making noodle soup, and I need a little snack before my shift starts. And possibly a drink."

"As much time as Wu spends with your family, visiting your grandmother practically is part of your shift," Asami said with a small smile. Dating seemed to agree with Wu. And it seemed to agree with her too. She covered Mako's hand with her own. They had been dating for four months, and she was only now becoming used to the fact that she could just lay her head on his shoulder. That he would be there when she needed him. That he had _chosen_ her this time and didn't seem inclined to go anywhere. And that no Red Lotus or triad thugs would take him from her. That she might be allowed to be happy.

But there was still the rail system. "Raiko needs the revised plans by next week. Kuvira can't finish reuniting the Earth Kingdom if she can't get to it, and there are a lot of people depending on the freight the new trains will move."

"I know. But I also remember how well you don't think on an empty stomach." He tilted her chin up to look her in the eye. "Korra will be just as proud of you if you finish this after dinner."

"Am I that obvious?" She leaned into his embrace. "I miss her."

He kissed the top of her head. "Me too."

It had been almost two years since Zaheer's capture, and there was still no word from Korra and only scraps of news from Tonraq or Tenzin. Asami had moved on, or was trying to, but she still loved Korra. So did Mako. There would always be a wound in their hearts as long as Korra was lost to them. She wished desperately for a letter or a phone call, something to quiet the nagging voice in her head that Korra had shut her out of her life forever. Something to let Asami know that she approved of all that was being done for her sake. And that she was all right with her friends finding happiness with each other.

There was a brisk knock at the door, and Asami straightened up and schooled her face into a mask of professional decorum. "Come in."

Min had been working for Future Industries for as long as Asami could remember and wasted little time. "One of the workers at the new apartment complex got himself trapped by a collapsing wall. He's not hurt, but emergency services is skittish about all the spirit activity. Chief Beifong was hoping you and Mako could get him out—"

"Because we're Korra's friends and have talked with spirits before." And it was one of her people who was trapped. That made it her responsibility. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Same here. Beats bodyguard duty. Tell him to stay calm and for everyone else to try not to antagonize the spirits. Most of the waterbenders who know the pacification technique are White Lotus, and they went south with Korra."

Her assistant nodded. "I almost forgot. Man down at the docks gave me this for you," she said as she handed Asami a plain, unmarked envelope. "No toxins or bombs, but security couldn't tell me anything else."

Asami took the letter and flipped it over. No postmark or other identifying details. Strange. "Tell them to bring my car around."

"That's suspicious," Mako said when they were alone. He stared at the envelope. "And way too small to be a bomb. Could be blackmail or threats."

"It wouldn't do them any good. The only thing I'm ashamed of is my father, and that's been public knowledge for years." Or at least it was the only thing she was ashamed of that anyone would bother blackmailing her about. No one blamed her for her real failures. "And I don't cave to threats."

"Just…if they ask you to meet them alone on Kyoshi Bridge at night, don't."

Asami smiled despite herself. Mako was older and wiser, but he could still be utterly adorable sometimes. "Don't worry, sweetie. Now, let's see what our mystery writer wants." She opened the letter.

 _Dear Asami,_

 _Forgive my theatrics, but I can only conclude that you've been ignoring my other letters. I deserve that, but there are things I must say to you, and I can think of no other way to ensure you read this._

 _I am truly sorry for how I hurt you. When your mother died, I could only see what I had lost and how those monsters got away with her murder. I was going to build a better world for you so that you never lost those you loved. I see now that I was seduced by a liar and that I lost you as you surely as if the Agni Kais had killed you, too._

 _This is a frightening world for non-benders. I saw the battle with that terrible beast from my cell window. What can a mere mortal do in a world with spirits that can destroy us with barely a thought or maniacs who can fly? I thought the Equalists could protect you. My rage over losing your mother poisoned me and I said and did things I can never take back, but I told myself that I was doing it out of love for you. I still love you. You are the one creating a better world, not me. You are my legacy._

 _Please, Asami. I only want to see you one more time. Hear your voice. Or, if seeing me disgusts you, a letter will do. I want to earn your forgiveness, if I can. I don't have many years left. I would like to spend them repairing what I've destroyed. Please._

 _With all my love,_

 _Dad_

Asami saw the words. For a few horrifying seconds, her mind was completely blank as an icy coldness filled her and awareness returned only in fits and starts. The hardness of the floor beneath her, the weak breeze of the ceiling fan, Mako's fingers digging into her shoulder. And then little bits of broken thought and memory, spelling through her mind like debris. Her hand shaking as she put on the electric glove for the first time. Her father screaming "Now I see that there is no chance to save you." Realizing that, yes, this man who had held her so tenderly after her mother died intended to kill her now. Staying locked in the mansion after Mako was arrested because she was afraid of who else she might see. Stacks of unopened letters postmarked Republic City Prison. Her father had written to her. Again. And this time he had gotten through.

Mako took the letter from her unresisting fingers. He read. "Wow. I never thought I'd see Hiroshi apologize."

"It's not an apology." Her voice sounded like it was coming from somewhere else. "If he were sorry, he wouldn't spend all that ink trying to justify what he did." A tremor spasmed through her body. "He's just—I don't even know what he is."

Mako's arms came around her. "Do you want to talk about it?" He sounded nervous. Mako still didn't like talking about his feelings, but Asami knew that he thought it was the sort of question a good boyfriend would ask. She decided she appreciated the thought.

She shook her head. "Not really. Where's the car?" Rescuing someone was just what she needed. It was action, physicality and danger requiring absolute concentration. No room for regrets and no room for memory of a man she had thought was kind and brilliant but had turned out to be a monster.

Every time she drove near the Spirit Wilds, Asami was reminded how far she still had to go. Vines choked the streets, forming cracks in the pavement and buildings. Thousands were still homeless. The car ahead of her swerved to avoid a catdeer spirit who swore at the driver in its high-pitched voice. Somehow she had to make the city livable for two forms of life that Avatar Wan had considered so incompatible that he had sealed the spirit portals. Well, she always had been one for a challenge.

A crowd of pale, frightened, but very strong-looking onlookers had crowded around the half-collapsed building. Mako flashed his badge and they were past the police line. Asami surveyed the heavy stone and metal. She turned back to the crowd. "Any of you earth or metalbenders care to give us a hand?"

A woman shook her head. "That place is crawling with spirits. I don't know whose idea it was to build there, but this place is cursed. Only person who can deal with the spirits is the Avatar and she's never coming back."

"She'll be back someday, but we have to do the best we can until then." At least Asami hoped she would.

"We? You can't even bend! I bet you were cowering like the rest of us when Unalaq was wrecking everything."

 _As a matter of fact, I was in a healing hut in the South Pole_. She turned to Mako. "I guess we're doing this the hard way. Can you give me a light?"

When the apartment building was completed, it would be a marvel of affordable, solid construction that would allow people to live as close to their old neighborhood as possible. Right now, it was vaguely creepy in the dim light provided by Mako's hand fireball, with the naked cross beams casting strange shadows on the walls. Stone scruffled under their feet.

"You know," Mako whispered, "you didn't really miss anything in the Spirit World. Not a place I ever want to go back to."

Asami shrugged. When she was little, her nannies had regaled her of stories of brave heroes who ventured into the spirit world in search of knowledge or to save the women they loved. It was a mystical, romantic place where anything could happen and had wonders beyond imagining. A brave new world. She had made herself sick meditating and trying to enter. But a life of gears and switches had left little time or hope for enlightenment. After the portals were opened, helping Korra find new airbenders had seemed more important. Perhaps it was just as well. _After all you did only sit and watch when the world was ending,_ whispered a voice. _Just like you watched when Korra was dying._

"Shut up," Asami whispered.

"Who are you talking to?" Mako asked.

Now she was hearing things. Lovely. "Let's just find him and go home."Asami cupped her hands together. "Can you hear me?" she called.

There was a _chirrup_ as something soft and warm brushed Asami's leg. A spirit, vaguely pear-shaped and colored blinked up at her. "I know you. You're the Avatar's friends. She hasn't been to the Spirit World in a long time. Do you know why?"

Asami knelt, but was still looking down at the spirit. "Yes, we're her friends." Was Korra still so sick that she couldn't even enter the Spirit World? Was she still as haunted and broken as she was when she left? "We're looking for a worker trapped under a wall. Can you help?"

"Yes." The spirit chirped nervously. "But you have to hurry. One of the others said Dizang had been called. You don't want to be here when he comes."

"Who's Dizang?"

The spirit looked at her as if she'd just asked if the sky was blue, "He's very old and very powerful and he doesn't like humans. Now hurry!"

The spirit led them to a section of collapsed wall and the sound of terrified whimpers. "Someone help me!"

Asami and Mako dove into the debris, moving the stones as fast as they could. As promised, the workman was caked in dust and filth but seemed otherwise unharmed. They worked him free stone by stone with a speed that would have made Bolin proud, but sweat formed on Asami's palms. _Hurry_. She had never heard of this Dizang before, but anything that made other spirits nervous couldn't be good. Especially with Korra and the White Lotus gone and Jinora on the other side city.

Mako extended his hand to the workman. "There you go now. Now we just—"

The ground shook beneath them. Asami grabbed onto a metal beam for support, but Mako and the workman were sent flying backwards. A sudden cold wind whipped Asami's cheeks and seeped into her bones. It carried the scent of jasmine tea, but a moment later Asami could smell something fouler underneath. Rotting eggs and rotting flesh. The spirit chirped madly as the ground rumbled again. Asami held onto the steel beam with all the strength she could muster. Her teeth rattled. This wasn't an ordinary earthquake. This was...

"Who summons Dizang? Who seeks enlightenment?" It was a moment before Asami realized that the rumbles were words and not another tremor. Someone screamed. The spirit filled the entrance. His body was shaped like that of a man's, all dark silver and dull golds, but his face was that of a lion. A cruel, mocking lion. His gaze turned to Asami and she could almost feel the weight of those black eyes. "You."

Asami forced herself to breathe. Calm. She had to keep calm. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mako stirring feebly and the workman still unconscious. And just beyond the police line were who knew how many civilians. She had to de-escalate this somehow before someone got hurt. If she could. "How have we displeased you, Dizang?"

"By being foolish. As you always have. But you keep asking for me." The rumbles seemed to come from inside her own head. "I'm here because you asked for me. You wish to learn."

"I don't know what you mean." Asami did her best to keep her voice soft and reasonable, as if she were dealing with a particularly troublesome client. She wished she had asked Korra and Jinora more questions about spirits, something that would have let her know how they thought and how to keep this one calm.

"You wish to learn," Dizang repeated as if she were small child. "And I have to help you." That was all the warning Asami received before tendrils erupted from his body. Asami turned to run but the pain of them dug into her skin and dragged her backwards towards Dizang, toward whatever he planned for her. Asami screamed at last. "Help!" She struggled, but the tendrils simply burrowed deeper.

A fire blast whizzed past her. Mako was on his knees, flinging fire towards Dizang. "Let her go! She didn't summon you!"

Dizang appeared to take no notice of the flames. "That's what my students always say. But they still call for me. And I see they are as weak and cowardly as ever." She could feel herself almost pressing against his body. "Take a deep breath. I'm told this hurts." The tendrils dug deeper still. Asami felt as if she were being forced into a coffin. Mako screamed her name, but his voice sounded far away. And then Asami noticed something crumpled at his feet. Her own body, lying there as if she had chosen this moment to lie down for a nap, her chest rising and falling with shallow breaths. Asami screamed again, but no sound came out.

"Calm yourself, Asami. I never kill anyone. You'll get it back once you're finished. If you finish."

Asami found her voice of last. "Finished with what? Where are you taking me?"

"My school, of course. There you will stay until you are done." Dizang's voice changed, becoming deeper still. "You will need your strength. You'll fail like all the rest, but I am bound to give you your best chance. Sleep.

Asami blacked out.

* * *

Asami woke to the feel of rough stone beneath her cheek. Her body ached with a dull, throbbing pain that started at the base of her spine and extended to the crown of her head. People murmured in low voices around her. She forced an eye open. Her thoughts felt muddy. She had…there had been an attack…a spirit…

A spirit had ripped out her soul and taken her here. The memory came back with sudden, horrifying clarity. Was she dead? The—her body was still breathing when she had saw it last. So she was only dying then. Like Jinora after Unalaq had captured her. What a comfort. Blind, numbing panic threatened to drown her. She was dying. In the spirit world. And Korra was half a world away, her body and mind still injured by the poison.

No. She would not let the panic overtake her. Korra was gone, but there were others. Mako knew she had been taken. He would get help. Jinora could meditate into the spirit world. Tonraq could mount a rescue from the spirit portal. Asami just had to hold out for…how long exactly?

 _The airbender girl survived nearly a week, but you aren't so spiritual. I give you a day and a night._ Dizang's voice, coming from inside her head again.

Of course, escaping on her own would be good, too. Asami sat up and looked around. She was in a cell. At least she thought it was a cell. Wherever she was seemed to be constructed according to no human logic. The angles were all wrong, seeming to press down on her at one moment and curve upward the next. Dull amber light illuminated the stone, but there were no torches. Scrolls of parchment that seemed a moment from crumbling to dust lay heaped in the nearest corner. Asami touched one gingerly. When it didn't crumble, she tried to read it, but the characters seemed to crawl along the page before she could finish a sentence, so she could only decipher a word or two at a time. _Enlightenment. Focus. Maze. Chakra._ Asami groaned in frustration.

 _Oh, come now. You didn't thing you could find true enlightenment by reading, did you?_ The cell door swung open. _Go explore if you want to earn your way out. One of the other students will tell you what to do. He'll be delighted to see you._

"Stay out of my head," Asami growled, but pulled herself to her feet on unsteady legs. She wouldn't find a way out sitting here. And at worst…well, she was dying anyway. Asami walked along a long hallway. Symbols had been carved into the stone at regular intervals. The symbols of the four nations and three others Asami didn't immediately recognize the significance of: an ear, a sun, and a star. Voices murmured all around her, too soft for Asami to understand words, but carrying unmistakable notes of terror. Asami came to plain wooden door and tried the handle. Instead of opening, the door dissolved like fog before the sunlight. It was a cell almost identical to the one she had woken up in. A woman in green and gold robes lay huddled in a corner, shivering. Asami reached for her. "Where are—"

The woman hissed as if she'd been struck. "No," she whimpered. "I'm tired of your torture. I don't want to learn anymore. Please."

Asami looked at her. The robes looked new, but also a style that hadn't been worn for centuries. The pit in Asami's stomach deepened. "How long have you been here?"

"I…a day? A thousand years? You make time so strange, Sifu." The woman lifted her head, revealing the paint of the Kyoshi Warriors. "You're not Dizang."

Asami knelt, but didn't dare touch the frightened woman. "I'm Asami. A prisoner here. Like you. Do you remember your name? How you got here?"

"Gama," she said as if she were repeating a mantra. "I am Gama, one of Kyoshi's companions. We were scouting the woods during the solstice. Dizang came from the water and attacked. I alone survived. Or maybe I alone died."

Asami recoiled. The Companions were what the Kyoshi Warriors had been called during Kyoshi's lifetime. "You've been here for almost four hundred years." It seemed impossible. Gama should be long dead, her soul reincarnated into whatever form non-Avatars took. "He's kept you prisoner that long? That's monstrous."

"He said I still had much to learn," Gama said as if that explained everything.

 _You can't expect me to let a student go before they've learned everything I have to teach. I ask for nothing the Avatars haven't done lifetime after lifetime. The moment any student reaches enlightenment, they are free to go._

"This isn't teaching, it's torture."

 _I expected the Avatar's love to be wiser. But then, you aren't her love anymore. Moving down in the world, are we?_

"Korra is—" Asami groaned again as she realized what she was talking to and clenched and unclenched her fist rapidly. "I am not discussing my love life with an insane spirit."

 _A pity. Humans came to me for advice about all sorts of things in the old days. But take a good look at Gama. I always find knowing the price of failure is an excellent motivator._

Asami walked on. "I will not go insane," she whispered. "I will find a way out of here. There is always a way out." Her fingers ran over the rough stone. No obvious structural weaknesses despite the crudeness of the workmanship. Maybe a secret door or switch? There has to be something here. Unless it was all just a cruel joke and Gama was right and there was no way out. "No. There is. I just have to find it."

Asami had no idea how long she had been walking before she heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps. She stopped. The footsteps stopped. She started walking again. So did whoever was following her. Their footsteps were heavy. Not someone accustomed to walking quietly. She turned. In the shadows cast by the amber light stood the silhouette of a man.

"Asami?" His voice sounded familiar. "Is that you? I mean you no harm."

Asami made a noise in the back of her throat. Let them think she was nonthreatening. She's always been a better fighter at close range. "Come into the light."

"I'm afraid my appearance may shock you."

"I'm not easily shocked."

"For your sake, I hope that isn't bravado." He stepped into the light. Asami saw his boots first, well-made and in the Northern style. Her gaze traveled upward to a tailored coat that was waterlogged and torn. A jutting chin and sharp blue eyes. His hair had been braided once, but now flew about in every direction. Tarrlok. He and Amon had disappeared after the Equalist movement collapsed. Everyone said he was dead. Except here he was.

"You. How?" She dropped into a fighting stance. Korra had said he had been remorseful about his bloodbending, but that didn't count for much. She had barely had time to think of him between her father's betrayal and Unalaq and everything else, but she still remembered writhing on the ground helpless as her body no longer obeyed her, and no last-minute change of heart could erase that. "Hands up, Tarrlok."

He raised his hands, though his smile held no amusement. "Afraid I've somehow managed to recover my body and my bending? You needn't worry. I'm quite dead by now. At least I assume. How long has it been since my brother and I—" He bowed his head, unable to finish.

"Almost three years." She didn't trust Tarrlok as far as she could throw him, but he seemed saner than anyone else in this place. "Do you know anything about this prison? Why you're here? Why I'm here? How we can get out?"

"There is no way out. None that you can use."

 _He'll never unlock his sound chakra if he keeps lying like that. You are right. There is always a way out. All any of you have to do is make it through the maze and you'll have the enlightenment you summoned me for._

"I did not summon you," Asami muttered. Defiance was better than fear. Defiance kept you sane when nothing else could. "I just want to go home and eat a hot meal and wait for my friend to come home. The only interest I ever had in chakras was when I was learning chi-blocking."

 _That's not true, is it Asami? Trying to meditate your way here as a little girl. Attaching yourself to the Avatar. The world of spirits and bending fascinates you. You had everything you ever wanted growing up. Smartest girl they ever trained, your tutors said. You understand everything. Except this. That's why you like pro-bending. Mako was just an endless source of fascination for you wasn't he? You basked in that power. And then the Avatar. Being around all that made you feel like you were something, didn't it? More than a scared little girl who watched her mother die._

"I thought I told you to stay out of my head," Asami whispered. She loved Mako. She had loved Korra. And yes, she loved watching them bend. It was the same fascination that drew Korra to the track time and again. Watching Mako wreathe lightning around himself or Korra create jets of flame and fire were beautiful, an excellence she could never share but could appreciate. She was not six and cowering anymore. Dizang was wrong. "What is this maze? Where do I find it?"

"Your way out. All of your ways out. That the others allowed themselves to be trapped instead shows just how weak humans are. And the Avatar brought more humans here. But come, let us see if the Avatar made you any braver. Walk through the maze, Asami. Unless you're as weak as all the rest. At least the other human had some nerve."

Tarrlok made a face, and if Asami hadn't known him better, she would have said he looked guilty. His hand hovered over her shoulder before he thought better of it and forced it to his side. "I won't let you drive her insane. She has a chance to escape and live. Do you realize what you've done, Sifu Dizang? Avatar Korra will be a fully realized Avatar by now. She will come for her friend. She will defeat you. And we can finally move on."

"No, no she won't. Whatever we do, we do alone." Asami ran her fingers through her hair. How many minutes had passed in the material world already? A day and a night. That was all the time she had for Mako to find help. For Tonraq to brave the storm for her sake. For Asami to escape the inescapable.

She really might die here.

Tarrlok looked as if he was thinking the same thing. He shook his head. "I am so, so sorry for this Asami."

A bitter laugh escaped Asami's lips before she could stop it. "Sympathy from you? The last I remember, you were chomping at the bit to lock me up. This place must really have changed you."

"No, Noatak changed me." Tarrlok reached into his jacket and Asami's eyes widened as she realized what he held in his hand. An exact copy of her electric glove. He pushed it into her unresisting grip. ""I can only feel pain if Dizang wants me to, but since he seems to take particular delight in tormenting me, this may be able to protect you. I offer it to let you know that I am truly sorry for hurting you and for arresting you. And in the hopes that you will listen to me when I say that the maze is a terrible danger. Dizang is no longer entirely sane."

Asami snorted. "I already figured that out."

"Yes, I suppose you have," he said with a half-smile. "Believing his prisoners are students and driving those already fragile over the edge before they die. I never wanted this." He did not speak for several moments, and when he did his voice was low, monotone, and as mechanical as Dizang's had been in the human world. "Noatak took me from Air Temple Island after he was exposed. He was deranged enough to believe we could start a new life and escape the consequences of what we had done. But the taint of our father's blood can't be escaped. I was going to use that glove to ignite our fuel tank and put an end to Yakone's bloodline once and for all. But before I could, Dizang rose out of the water and dragged us here."

Oh. Asami had known that sort of despair, never to the point of knife, rope, or poison, but when she had almost lost the company, it had been as if a great chasm has opened up beneath and around her. That she could have something in common with this man who had tried to trample on her to increase his own power seemed incredible. But he looked miserable. "I'm sorry."

"So am I, but I'm not rehashing this for my health. Noatak ran off into the maze just after we arrived, very eager to escape and get started with his new life. I went after him a day or so later. And I found him, not so very far in, and completely out of his mind. He saw things that weren't there, attacked me as if he were a wild animal." He bowed his head. "That maze is no way out. Whatever else he was, Noatak had a strong will. I've done enough harm to you. I'd hate to see you driven mad."

 _Anyone with clear chakras can pass._

"And that's been done before. By benders and non-benders. It beats waiting here." Meeting Amon again sounded terrifying, even without his bloodbending, but what choice did she have? And the one good thing her father had taught her was to always do what had to be done, no matter the cost. She looked up into the darkness where she imagined Dizang was. "I'm not afraid. Show me this maze."

"Asami…"

But Dizang laughed as the walls shifted around them, revealing a massive stone door engraved with the seven symbols. For the chakras, she realized. The door swung open with a groan. Asami sniffed. The air on the other side was sweet and…fresh?

Asami looked back at Tarrlok's terrified eyes. Enter and go crazy or stay and die.

She stepped through the door.


	2. Part Two

Asami had always prided herself on her good sense of direction, but after passing the same cracked masonry three times and walking until her legs were sore, she was forced to admit she was lost. At least it smelled better here. Clean, fresh earth and sweet air. So far the maze appeared to be entirely ordinary, the sort of thing Wu might set up in his back garden once he returned to Ba Sing Se. Every few minutes, Asami would hear vague, indistinct voices from far away. Others who were brave enough to walk the maze? Amon? Just how many prisoners did Dizang have? But there was no sign of them or of exit, which left plenty of time to ponder her own thoughts.

She had to unlock her chakras. What did she remember about them? Her education had been relentlessly practical. There were seven pools of energy in the body where chi gathered before flowing on. The targets her instructors had trained her to aim for when neutralizing an opponent. Base of the spine for earthbenders, the stomach for firebenders, the groin for waterbenders and non-benders. Hitting the light chakra in the center of the forehead could briefly stun a combustion bender, assuming there were others besides P'Li. But of the larger, spiritual meaning she knew little. Each represented an aspect of existence and was blocked by some vice or other. And there was…an order you had to unlock them in. She closed her eyes and remembered the symbols on the walls. Earth, water, fire, air, sound, light, and thought.

So the first test was earth. Which apparently was a test of patience. Or not dying of boredom.

 _Earth is the foundation upon which all is built._ Dizang sounded almost wise. _So it is with the chakras. First you must survive._

A sob rang through the air. "Asami!" cried Mako. He sounded close by. Asami forgot the pain in her legs as she ran toward him. Had rescue arrived already? The stone shifted around her, fading away to reveal her bedroom at the mansion. Mako, his family and Wu stood around the bed. Wu sobbed and buried his face in Tu's neck. And on the bed was her own lifeless body, neck and arms twisted in unnatural angles, eyes sightless.

Mako seized her hand as she had once seen him take Korra's. "No! Asami, you have to fight this." His head whipped around to Chow. "Tell Jinora to try again."

Asami dashed to Mako. "I am fighting, sweetie. I'm right here." But when she moved to take him in her arms, her hands went right through him as if he were no more than an air.

"I should have fought harder." He kissed her fingers one by one and then her lips, as if he were hoping she was like a princess from the old tales, but the Asami on the bed never moved. Mako let her hand fall. There were tears in his eyes.

 _But you're going to die here._ Dizang's mocking tone had returned. _You're a human in the Spirit World, hopelessly ignorant and outclassed. As you have always been. Those self-defense classes you're so proud of couldn't do anything against a spirit. You live your life on sufferance. It's only a matter of time before you end up just like what you see. You'll leave Mako, just like your mother left your father. Just like Korra left you. Do you think he'll go crazy?_

Asami took a deep, steadying breath. This was only an illusion, a test. "None of this has happened yet. None of it will happen."

 _You keep telling yourself that. But you terrified. You're going to end up just like Gama, whimpering in your cell._

There was sweat on her hands. Survival was blocked by fear, wasn't it? Yes, that seemed right. And yes, she was afraid. She had been afraid when the Agni Kai came from her mother, afraid when her father came after her in that mech. "It could happen. But I'm not just going to sit around waiting for it. I'm already in this maze. You can't stop me with a few visions."

Mako and the body vanished. Asami let out a breath. _One down._

 _You didn't think it would be that easy, did you? I was just buying time for you to meet another old friend. Or several._

And between one eyeblink and the next, Asami was surrounded by chiblockers. In the center of the group stood three figures. The Lieutenant was as she remembered him, sneering and with kali sticks at the ready. The second figure Asami had never seen before. It wore combat leathers and heavy boots and one of the electric gloves. There was a vague suggestion of feminine curves, but she was tall for a woman, a little taller than Asami herself. Her face was covered by a dark helm, with tubes where the mouth should be.

And beside her was Amon. Asami had seen him in person only once before and never without his mask. His coat and armor were as dirty and travel-stained as Tarrlok's suit, and the mask and hood were long gone. He might have been handsome once, but his hair was unkempt and his eyes were wild. Asami dropped into a fighting stance. There were eight of them altogether. She had taken down chi blockers and the Lieutenant before, and Amon didn't have his bending. Most of them were probably more illusions anyway. She could do this.

"How did you get here? Did Tarrlok bring you?" Amon asked His voice was slightly slurred, holding none of the command or terror he had had in life. His eyes brightened with a manic glow. "You must be a test. Dizang is always testing. If I kill you, I can return to the world and begin my revolution anew. Attack!"

The chi blockers and Lieutenant swarmed her. They were faster than Asami remembered, and she was assaulted by an endless stream of punches and kicks. One of the chi blockers hit her in the jaw, sending Asami's head snapping backwards. Okay, so they weren't all illusions.

 _Oh, most of them are. But lessons without pain are no lessons._

Asami repaid the punch with a shock from her electrical glove. _These illusions can hurt me, but I couldn't touch Mako? That doesn't make any sense._ There were rules in the spirit world, just like there were rules in the physical world. It was simply a matter of learning them.

 _Ignorant girl! Within this school, my word is law. The only rule is that the student must learn. Science will not help you here. Nothing will help you here. You exist on my sufferance. You have always existed on sufferance. Did you think you were skilled because you could handle a handful of chi blockers? That's nothing compared to a bloodbender. Or the Red Lotus. Even the Agni Kais would burn you to ash. Poor little mortal fighting gods._

The Lieutenant attacked. Asami twisted, using his momentum to send him sailing to the ground. This was a test of courage, not combat skill. She stared at Amon who had not yet moved to attack but was staring at her with undisguised hatred. "Do they know that you're a fraud? The very thing they hate?" She pointed at the armored woman. "Who's your friend? Did you tell her what you are? Or is she one of the illusions?"

"I'm as real as anything else in this place." Her voice was mechanical and her breath came in hissing gasps through the tubes. "And you're hardly one to talk about frauds."

Amon smiled a predator's smile. "I found Jingzi… I don't remember when. A century ago? She knows what I am. What Yakone did to me. Together we will cleanse the world."

"Bending is a corruption. It hurts innocent people. It destroyed my life. Amon's life. Even your life." Jingzi took Amon's hand. "But once you are gone, he and I can escape and be together. We will finish what he started." Her hand traveled up Amon's arm. "Join us. Accept us. You've suffered too. The Equalists are the only hope we regular humans have. Join us and we can make sure no other little girl loses her parents."

"No. I didn't join my father, and I'm certainly not going to join a delusional armored thing who's dating a psychopath."

"I warned you," Amon said as if they were discussing the weather. "End her, darling, and our new life can begin."

Whoever had trained Jingzi was good. Her movements were graceful and powerful with no wasted motion, and it took every bit of strength Asami's exhausted body possessed to dodge her movements. The only sound was their harsh breathing as they sparred. Jingzi's hand was wreathed in lightning as she pulled her arm back, leaving the smallest of openings. Asami readied a strike to her sternum and—

—and fell to her knees. Every breath felt as if it were squeezed out. Knives pierced her lungs, her stomach, her throat as her arms spasmed. Amon wavered before her as he stared at his hands. Bloodbending. He was bloodbending her. He was nothing but a spirit and he was bloodbending her.

 _I told you. I make the rules. Still think bending is nothing to be frightened of? Maybe your father had a point._

Asami had no reply. Every moment was more of a fight as her vision darkened. She was going to die. What happened to someone who died here? Were they still trapped? Allowed to move on? Tossed into the Fog of Lost Souls? She had tried and she had failed before she had even begun. Her nails scraped the stone. _Sorry, Mako. Sorry, Korra._

"Let her go!" Tarrlok's voice rang through the room, and there was something of the task force leader in his voice. "You are better than this, Noatak!"

"Brother," Amon said, almost warmly. "I'm only doing what must be done. Jingzi and I are the only hope this revolution has. And the traitor has to die for her to be free. We'll undo everything Yakone did."

"There is no revolution anymore. We're dead. The best we can hope for is to end this miserable existence. Wasn't that enough for you once? A new life with me?"

"It wasn't enough for you. You wanted to kill me."Asami could no longer see Amon's face, but he sounded like a petulant child. "We can do so much more. End our father's corruption forever. And be a family. You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

"Let her go, Noatak. Or you'll never get what you want."

Amon must have wavered, because the vice around Asami's lungs loosened the tiniest fraction. She dragged herself to her feet. "Get…get out. You're just a ghost. You can't hurt anyone anymore."

Amon opened his mouth to say something, but vanished before her eyes as if he had never been there. Jingzi followed a moment later, and the next thing Asami knew she had crumpled into Tarrlok's arms. She shivered and gasped for breath. _I could have died._ The thought repeated itself over and over like a mantra. _I could have died._

 _But you didn't. Now it's one down. Well done, my student. Of course there are six more to go._

Tarrlok put his hand under Asami's neck and held her as her breathing steadied. "Easy. Take a deep breath. In and out. Good."

Asami wasn't sure how long she lay there. Her body was caked in sweat and a dull soreness settled over her arms and legs. But there was something-a lightness, a tingling—at the base of her spine. The first spark of energy. Chi flowing through her body. She lifted her head. "Is it always like this?" Her voice was raspy and her lips were cracked.

"Mortal terror and breaking every rule you ever knew about bending or spirits?" he asked with a faint smile. "I'm afraid so. Dizang will do anything to see us suffer. Including returning my brother's bending. But you survived."

"Because of you." Asami ignored the protest in her muscles and forced herself into a sitting position. "What are you doing here?"

Tarrlok bowed his head and it took him a few moments to answer. "I hurt you, Asami. I hurt Avatar Korra. I used to dream of finding some way to make up for that, but there's no atonement. I couldn't even put an end to Noatak's madness. But you opened your first chakra, which means you might be able to escape this place. I can help, if you'll have me."

Her only ally in this place was the man who had jailed and bloodbent her. But she had no other friends here. And after Amon and Jingzi, she needed them. "No funny business."

Tarrlok flexed his fingers. "I don't seem to have my waterbending, if that's what you are worried about. And after that display, I'm in no hurry to challenge you to a fight. And I swear upon what little honor I have left that I'm not going to betray you."

It would have to do. "Do you know where I can find the next challenge?"

He helped her to her feet. "It's one I know well. Come."

It grew colder and colder as Tarrlok led her to the right and to the left and to the left again. Asami's teeth chattered, but Tarrlok didn't seem bothered by the cold. He didn't speak as they walked, but seemed lost in his own thoughts. He walled like a man going to his execution. Water flowed somewhere nearby. Asami licked her dry lips. Water. It hardly mattered if it was another of Dizang's tricks. There was water nearby.

 _Food and water. Such simple pleasures. But do you deserve pleasure? Even you have made mistakes._

Mako appeared before her. Not as he was now, but with spiky hair and his father's scarf wrapped around his neck. "The Triple Threats are willing to make a deal." He scowled. "If you give them the tanks, they'll provide security to the shipment."

Another memory. She had been so desperate then. Future Industries have been on the brink of collapse. She had been thrust unprepared into leadership. The war was supposed to have been her salvation. All she had to do was sell weapons to criminals. "I—"

Her mother's voice, gentle even in this memory of a memory. "No, you can't build something to help you push Jun into the mud. You're my brilliant little girl, but you have to use that to help people. Never to hurt them."

 _And how many did the Triple Threats kill with those weapons? How many did they hurt?_

Asami gritted her teeth. Nine deaths linked to stolen Future Industries technology. Several dozen had been injured. And Varrick had been playing them for fools the entire time. "It wasn't worth it, Mako. I should have been braver. I was braver. We spent weeks tracking down the stolen weapons, remember?" She rose to her gaze to the sky to where she hoped Dizang was watching. "Yes, I have made mistakes. But I fix them. I don't wallow in them."

 _And sometimes there is no fixing._

The scene shifted, and it was Korra who stood before her. Vibrant, skin glowing with health and energy, wolftails whipping in the wind. Asami's heart caught somewhere around her throat and didn't leave. She had forgotten how beautiful Korra had been. How very alive. But she was frowning just as Mako had been. "I'm doing the right thing, getting this gold for the Earth Queen, right?"

Asami opened her mouth to tell her that it was a waste of time and the Earth Queen was atyrant who would be dead soon anyway, but what came out was "I don't see how you have a choice. The important thing is finding more airbenders." Exactly as she really had told Korra.

 _There are no takebacks, Asami. You must live with everything you've done large and small. Of course, most of the people in that village are destitute now because you took the last of their gold. But whatever Korra wanted was what you wanted. Everything you have and everything you are was supposed to be used to help the less fortunate. Instead, you defended a monster. And you and Future Industries are securing the throng for a man who couldn't govern his way out of a paper bag. Talk about Team Avatar all you want, but your mother would be so disappointed in you._

"That's not true!" She had fought the Equalists. Future Industries philanthropic giving had tripled under her leadership. Thousands had homes, food, and jobs because of her. She had used her gifts well. She had nothing to be ashamed of. That little village was going to be connected to every other village by high-speed rail. Kuvira's forces would bring them food and medicine. In time, the Earth Kingdom would be stable enough that Asami could open new branches there. She had been tricked into taking that money, but she would pay it back a thousandfold. Wu was already an improvement on his great-aunt. Tu had been good for him. He might actually care about those villagers. He just needed time and experience. Asami could help.

 _So that's why you work so hard for the Earth Kingdom. It's not merely Korra's legacy that you're preserving, it's your own. Help the poor that you can. You can silence that little voice in your head that tells you that you should have been braver. You should have let Future Industries burn rather than work with Varrick. You should never have helped the Earth Queen. But you can't buy absolution._

"No you can't." Asami squared her shoulders. "You said it yourself: there are no takebacks. All I can do is learn from my mistakes. I knew that before I came here."

 _Well done. You are much less constrained by your guilt than the other one. This hasn't been educational at all._ There was a long pause before Dizang spoke again. _The other one. There's an idea._

Asami turned back to watch as Tarrlok sent a water whip at her, encasing her wrist. His mouth opened to scream, but no sound came out. Shadows appeared around them: metalbenders and protesters packed behind the police barricade. "Round up these Equalists." The words sounded as if they had been ripped from Tarrrlok's throat.

"They're not Equalists. They're just normal people who want their rights back." The words were forced from Asami's throat. _No. No. This is just a memory. It isn't real._ But her arm jerked back against her bonds. "Let me go!"

"You can't do that!"

"Actually I can. She's out past curfew and her father is a known Equalist terrorist." Her gaze locked with Tarrlok's and she could see two of them, one superimposed over the other like a badly exposed photograph. The bully who had imprisoned her to increase his own power and because he could and a frightened broken man begging her to do something.

"Tarrlok," she tried. "This isn't real." Her words were as much effort as her breaths had been.

He didn't move. They were standing in his office at City Hall. Mako, Bolin, Lin, and Tenzin surrounding them. Tarrlok's page pointed a finger at him. "He bloodbent Avatar Korra!"

"Don't make this worse for yourself." Tenzin dropped into an airbending stance. "Tell us where you have Korra."

One by one, the others prepared to fight. Tarrlok's eyes bulged, and he raised his hands. Asami knew what came next. She was going to be bloodbent again because Tarrlok was trapped in his private prison of memory. Unless she could find a way to stop it.

"All my years trying not to be his son and it was all undone in one day. Nothing I did mattered." His arm twisted and Asami fell to her knees.

Think. She had to think. There had to be someone I to reach him, free him, free them both. But Tarrlok kept mothering "Nothing I did mattered" as the phantoms fell around her. He had saved her from his brother only to kill her himself because he was trapped by his guilt.

A light went on in Asami's head. "You're right. Nothing you did mattered."

Tarrlok's arm fell and he looked at her in surprise.

Asami continued on. "Chief Beifong broke me out of prison. We found Korra. The Equalists were defeated. The Council is gone. We have an elected president. A non-bender." His grip loosened, and Asami stood. "Look at me. You didn't leave any scars. I run Future Industries. We have a big contract with the city and the Earth Kingdom. All the bad things you did? They didn't matter."

Tarrlok blinked, and he was back in the present. "Really?"

"Really."

The last of the bloodbending grip faded, and the phantoms vanished. Tarrlok collapsed into a sitting position. "Thank you," he whispered.

Asami sat beside him. "Just repaying the favor." Anything else seemed inadequate or a lie.

"I really did no lasting harm?"

"Trust me, corrupt politicians and genocidal revolutionaries seem almost quaint after the last three years. Republic City is better than ever. The only thing that lasted from those days is Team Avatar." Asami smiled sadly at the memory." Or at least it lasted for a long time."

"You said Korra was ill. What's happened since… since I've been away?"

"It's a long story."

"We have a long journey the next trial. Please, Asami. I need to know that there's more than this—" he gestured around the maze. "—to the world."

He looked like a polar bear puppy that had been kicked. Whatever he had been before, he didn't deserve this madness. And he had helped her. A Sato always paid her debts. "On three conditions. One: warn me if were about to go into a situation where you start bloodbending." What had just happened was more Dizang than him, but still…

"This place is the definition of unpredictable, but I'll do my best."

"Two:" Asami thought for a moment. "How much do you know about spirits and the spirit world? Or the chakras? I'm a little—well, a lot—out of my element."

"You need a guru and I'm the only one available. I'm flattered." He smiled at her. "I can heal, and I was the second-best student after Unalaq."

Asami winced at the mention of Unalaq's name. This was either a brilliant idea world was going to be a disaster. But that tingling had spread upwards. She had to believe that she was on the right path. "You really have missed a lot."

"So it seems. And the third thing?"

Asami managed a smile of her own. "You help me find where that water is coming from. I'm thirsty."

* * *

"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Asami took a drink from the water skin Tarrlok had loaned her. The path here was worn smooth by many feet and the air smelled of old parchment. The angles seemed more natural here, the shadows less oppressive. As if it was meant to be comprehended by the human mind.

"I was always trapped by the water chakra, so no, I'm not sure." Tarrlok shrugged. "But the next chakra is fire, and it does seem to be getting warmer, so I'm choosing to take that as a good sign. The fire chakra deals with willpower."

"And anyone who wants to survive here has to have a strong will." She took another sip. Why her spirit should still feel thirst here was a mystery. Her…body with all its physical needs was still in Republic City. She wondered how long it had been. It felt like no more than a few hours, but her feelings were subject to the whims of Dizang.

 _I do nothing on a whim. Everything you feel, everything you see, every challenge you face, is for your improvement. You summoned me after all. As your friend and his brother did. It's not my fault humans have become so weak and dull._

"Do you hear him in your head, too?"

"Sometimes. I try very hard to block it out."

 _You shouldn't. I'm only trying to teach. But if you can't even accept that you asked for this, you'll never get anywhere._ The walls shifted before her eyes. Where there had once been multiple forks, there was only a long corridor reaching into the darkness. _Come. I think it's time you learned more of this school._

Asami looked at Tarrlok. "Is it just me, or does this seem like a trap to you?"

"I think everything's a trap here, but what choice do we have? Just keep your mind on the fire chalra. Willpower is blocked by shame. What are you ashamed of?"

Asami opened her mouth to tell him that was a personal question, but she was the one who had asked for a teacher, and she supposed that implied personal questions. "My father."

Tarrlok made a noncommittal noise and Asami raised an eyebrow. "What? Having a bigot who tried to kill me and my friends as my only family isn't something to be ashamed of? Aren't you ashamed of your father and brother?"

"No. I'm ashamed of myself. Bloodbending is the darkest of the bending arts, and it's part of me. It was a poison even before, well, you saw."

"No lasting harm," Asami reminded him. "And once the Red Lotus are taken care of and Wu gets his throne back, the world will be more peaceful and prosperous than ever. There's an Air Nation now. Thanks to Korra. Thousands of people all over the world uniting to restore a lost culture."

"I'm surprised you weren't one of them, as close as you were to the Avatar I thought the spirituality might rub off on you. Do you ever wish you were?"

Asami shrugged. "I like meat too much. And I have my own culture and background. I don't need to be grafted into Tenzin's." She was proud of what she was. The Satos had been Fire Nation colonists, but they had been among the first to come to Zuko and Aang's side. Her mother's family had helped bring down the New Ozai Society in Omashu. She didn't need airbending to fly.

"Still, better you than someone like Zaheer. I was only an undersecretary when he was captured the first time, but I know of the Red Lotus and what they planned." He shuddered. "And they're still out there. Flying and lavabending and who knows what else."

"We'll get them," Asami assured him. "Kuvira's rooting out cells all the time. By the time Korra recovers, they'll be so weak that they won't dare try anything." And Korra would recover. She would be strong enough to take down the Red Lotus or dark spirits or whatever else threatened the world.

 _But what if she doesn't recover. What if it's down to people like you and Mako to save the world?_

"Korra will come back," Asami whispered. "She will."

The corridor led them to a door of polished bronze. A dragon, a flying bison, a badgermole, and Tui and La had been engraved into the surface. Asami ran her fingers over them. Unlike the rest of the school, there was nothing decaying or sinister here. The animals and spirits were beautifully and intricately carved, and the door was clean and unmarked. Asami tried the handle, and the door swung in easily.

A cheery fire crackled at one end of a long gallery. The carpet was plush and red under her feet. Paintings done in the style of the Fire Nation royal portraits adorned the walls. Men and women from every nation meditating opposite a spirit. Dizang. But not the Dizang who had captured her. The silver and gold of his body were no longer dull, and his lion's face was wise and kind. "Why have you come," asked one of the Dizang's of the portraits. "You are the chief of a great city and you have been blessed with the gift of fire."

"It is not enough, Sifu Dizang," replied the man in Fire Nation robes who knelt opposite him. "My brother was the one meant to be chief, while I was meant to be a soldier. I know nothing of the art of ruling. Teach me."

"You wish to be more than you are?"

Another portrait spoke, a warrior in Water Tribe robes and bear's head. "Teach me of healing, Sifu. For I am injured."

"It is not enough to be a warrior?"

"I cannot be a warrior if I am injured."

And yet another portrait. "Teach me to kill," said an earthbender. "For my neighbor has wronged me, and I will receive no justice from the king."

"You wish to kill?" Dizang sounded angry and disbelieving. "You who can craft such beautiful things of stone?"

"Beauty did not save me."

And on and on the portraits went, each request more petty than the last. By the time a young airbender begged him to teach her to become airball champion, Asami was starting to understand how a spirit might go a little mad.

 _You see? Humans can barely see beyond their own noses. No wish for enlightenment for its own sake, only as a means to an end. Every day, there are more of you, grasping and greedy. And now you come here in the flesh! I tried the old ways, I really did. You have no idea how much pickles and banana juice I went through before I built this maze. But you simply will not learn._

"So this was your solution. Kidnapping people and tormenting them? It doesn't bother you that your students are gibbering wrecks?" Asami glared at the nearest portrait of Dizang. "People can be petty and foolish and cruel, but they can also be wise and kind and, yes, enlightened."

Dizang laughed. _Was that supposed to convince me to let you go? I'm not some prisoner waiting for an inspiring speech. And you are closer to these students you despise than you admit._ At Dizang's words the fire in the grate burned white-hot and the portraits fell to the ground. Behind them were windows into a dozen cells just like the ones that had held her and Gama. In each was a prisoner in various states of dishevelment. As with his students, Dizang hadn't discriminated between young or old, rich or poor, male or female. _Can you guess what they have in common? How they all summoned me? How you did?_

The flame leaped higher, spilling out of the great and onto a carpet that did not burn. The fire rushed towards her, filling Asami's vision. She threw up her hands out of instinct and stepped back, but it was no good. The flame surrounded her. Tarrlok shouted her name. _This is familiar to you, is it not? Being surrounded by flame?_

The fire receded and she sat in her bedroom. But not her bedroom as it was now. There were paints and child-sized tools. Her mother, impossibly elegant and beautiful knelt beside her. "Sweetie, you'll make a mess," she said, but she smiled when she did.

"I won't make a mess," Asami said and knocked over a can of paint. "Well, not a very big mess."

 _I remember this. I was building a birdhouse per day at the night—oh, no._

There was a loud knock on the bedroom door. "Come out!" said a rough, savage voice.

Her mother's eyes went wide. "Asami, into the closet! Now."

Asami cringed. The look on her mother's face was even scarier than the loud voices. "I want to help you, Mommy."

"Help me by hiding." Her mother wrapped her arms around her. "I love you."

But when Asami came out of the closet and found a burned, blackened thing, she knew that she hadn't helped at all.

Asami took a deep breath. She would not break. She would not."My mother death?" You'll have to do better than that."

 _As you wish._

The heat was gone. Asami stood in the snow. Korra had her arm around Tonraq as they limped towards Oogie. Her face was scratched and bruised, but there was fire in her eyes. The Avatar, even now. "This is my fight. I have to be the one to close the portal." She turned to Tenzin and his siblings. "You guys think you can find Jinora?"

"No dark spirit is going to take my niece and get away with it!" Bumi clapped a hand on Tenzin's shoulder. "Right?"

Korra nodded. "Mako, Bolin. I need you to stop Unalaq while I closed the portal."

Tonraq groaned in pain and frustration. "I should…go with you. Help."

"No, Dad, you're injured." She turned towards Asami. "Can you take Oogie and my dad back to the healing hut?"

Asami bit her lip. She could do more than that. She should do more than that. The battle with Unalaq and Vaatu would decide the fate of the world for the next ten thousand years. Korra couldn't ask Asami to be a mere spectator. Even with the biplane downed, she could still fight. Help the brothers take on Desna and Eska. Not just putter around a healing hut like a helpless little girl. She had to fight for her very existence. She had—

She had no chance against a dark spirit. Asami mounted Oogie and helped Tonraq into the saddle.

 _And that wasn't even the last time you had to sit and watch._

She stood on Laghima's Peak. Zaheer was encased in stone, and the freed airbenders crowded around her, but Asami had eyes only for Korra. She bled from dozens of wounds large and small. Her eyes glowed white, but her every breath was a rattle and Asami knew she was dying. Korra was dying. No. No. She couldn't be dying. But her eyes closed and her head turned to the side.

Asami wrung her hands. "I love you," she whispered, to quietly for anyone else to hear. She loved Korra. All those touches and flirtatious glances, but she hadn't figured it out until this moment. "You can't die." She wished suddenly that she was an airbender who could force the air back into Korra's lungs, a waterbender who could heal, a metalbender who could help draw the poison out. But she could only watch with everyone else as Suyin worked and Korra took a fitful breath.

 _I thought you said that you didn't want to be an airbender? That you were proud of what you were?_

Asami screwed her eyes shut. "I am proud. No one else could have done what I've done. Rebuilding Republic City alone—"

 _Isn't enough. For all your money, all your smarts, all the advantages you have, you've still been helpless when it mattered. If Zaheer decides he wants to escape or some Earth Kingdom warlord decides he thinks Wu will make a lousy king, you won't do much about it._

"I'll fight as I always have. Just like I fought against the Equalists."

 _As if a man in a mask with electrified swords could compare to the embodiment of chaos. You are weak, Asami. And that shames you. You will never be strong enough to protect what you love. That's why you summoned me. You want to be more than you are._

"I didn't—I am not weak."

 _You want to be more. They all did. You summon me again and again because you want to learn and grow stronger. And you will risk the maze to do it._

"You're right. You aren't." Tarrlok's voice came from very far away. "Wanting more knowledge and power doesn't make you weak. It makes you ambitious. And ambition is what created civilization. Embrace it."

He was right. Asami wanted more. She wanted to be smart enough to remake the world. She wanted to beat back the Red Lotus wherever they appeared. She wanted to stand with Mako and Korra as an equal, not merely the Princess who needed protecting. "Yes, I want it all. I will get out of here, and I will have learned."

Power flowed through her stomach and the fire burned within her.


	3. Part Three

The walls were windows. Asami could see her fellow prisoners through the glass, cowering and gibbering. Tarrlok averted his gaze as they walked, but Asami couldn't help but stare. Some of them had been trapped for centuries. Their faces had been twisted into masks of rage and fear until their appearances had more in common with each other than the nations and times they supposedly hailed from. No one had come for them. No Avatar, no guru. "If I— _when_ I—escape, I'm going to tell Korra and Tenzin about this place. No one should be trapped like this."

"You think that old—I mean, you think Master Tenzin can free us? You think anyone can free us?" A bark of laughter escaped Tarrlok's lips. "I only have a sliver of hope for myself because of you, but I think the others are beyond saving. Including Noatak," he added quietly.

"Korra wouldn't accept them as lost, so I won't either. They should reincarnate. It's not natural to be kept like this."

 _And who are you to say what is natural and what is not? You have unlocked three chakras very quickly. Those who wish to leave will leave. They imprisoned themselves._

Tarrlok put a hand on her shoulder. "Avatar Korra meant a great deal to you? She inspired you?"

"Yes." She had been so lonely before Korra had come. Her father's overprotectiveness meant she had socialized with few people her own age and none who could offer her the adventure and purpose Korra had. "Dizang talks about making people more than they are, but Korra already did that for me."

"You loved her?" There was no accusation in Tarrlok's voice.

Asami breathed deeply. She had given him the right to ask. He was only trying to help her. "Yes, I did. I'm trying to move on. Mako and I are happy, but some days are easier than others." Some days they were a normal happy couple, and some days the ghosts followed Asami everywhere.

"Then be prepared. The next chakra is air. It deals with love, and is blocked by grief. You lost more than most. And I wouldn't be surprised if they were waiting for you."

"They won't be them." It would be Dizang wearing her mother and Korra's face. She had been trapped by grief for a year after Korra left and no insane spirit was going to guilt trip her into returning. _Remember,_ she told herself. _Korra loved you. She would want you to be happy._

"You're right, I do want you to be happy," said Korra's voice behind her. "I love you so much, even if I never got a chance to say it."

Asami steeled herself as best anyone who was about to face a ghost could and turned. Korra stood there, flanked by both her parents. Her mother was young and perfect and smiling, and there was no gray in her father's hair. They looked exactly as they did before the Agni Kais came and destroyed her family. But Korra looked different. Taller, but with less muscle mass. Her undereyes were dark as if she hadn't been sleeping well, and her hair was mussed like it was when she was trying and failing to go to sleep.

Asami covered her hand with her mouth and there were tears in her eyes. This wasn't some memory of Korra, but the real thing as she was now in all her beauty and brokenness. She was here. At last. After two years, Korra had returned to her. "How?" she whispered.

 _You would see right through a fraud, so I brought you the real thing. Don't worry. In the morning, she'll wake up and think she had a very strange dream._

"Korra! Mom, Dad!" And then all four of them were hugging. Her mother's perfume, her father's whiskers, the tickle of Korra's hair. It was all familiar and right. The tears flowed freely down Asami's face. "I missed you so much. All of you. So much."

"We missed you too," her father said as he held her close. "I know what I became, and it sickens me. That there was ever a universe where I could be poisoned with such rage. But here, I haven't been. I still have my wife and daughter. Thank you, Asami."

"Oh, if only the real you were that sorry."

Korra frowned in confusion. "He seems pretty real to me, Asami. The Spirit World is weird. Like, really weird. You wanted your mom and dad from before, so here they are. Ideas have the same power here that all that physics stuff you were trying to explain to me does in the real world." Korra brightened a bit. "You wanted me here? Me? Even though I still have nightmares and I can't go into the Avatar State?"

Asami smiled and shook her head. "I always wanted you, Korra. I would have taken care of you for as long as you needed." She took Korra's hand and it too was as warm and soft as Asami remembered. "I loved you." Her heart felt lighter saying the words. "Some part of me always will."

Korra dropped her hand and looked at the floor. "Yeah, I got your letter. You and Mako now. He—he hasn't hurt you? He makes you happy?"

"Yes, he does."

"I'm sorry I got hurt," Korra said softly. "I did love you. I still do. I just didn't know how to say it. And I didn't want to weigh you down. All the amazing things you've done. Rebuilding the city. You could never have done anything like that down south." She closed her eyes. "I just wish we could have been happy." There was a long pause. "Can you stay with me until I wake up?" she asked in a small voice. "Just hold me. Let me pretend for a little while."

"Of course I can." Pretend just for a little while that those she loved best were back with her. She moved to take Korra in her arms.

But Tarrlok seized Asami by the shoulder. "We need to keep moving."

"Show some compassion for my daughter," her mother said. "Show some compassion for me. I haven't seen Asami in fifteen years." She blinked back tears. "How you've grown, sweetie."

"You have to get out of here," Tarrlok's voice was as cold and unyielding as it was when he had railed against the Equalists on the radio. "Your mother isn't here. Her soul has moved on. Now she's a fifteen-year-old with her own life. Korra is only a dream, assuming Dizang isn't just lying through his fangs." He pointed to Hiroshi. "And there is no version of you that didn't join the Equalists or try to kill your daughter, just like there's no version of me that didn't bloodbend. You have to leave this place and go back to the people that really love you."

"I'm standing right here!" Korra shouted. "I'm very real, and I love her!"

"Yes, yes you do." Asami shivered. "But I can't stay with you. I want to live, Korra. I want to make you proud of me. But to do that, I have to let you go."

"I won't make you sad this time. It'll just be me and you and your family, like it should have been."

Like it should have been. She had never asked for the tragedies that had befallen her. She had tried to be a good person. Didn't she deserve an idyllic happy ending? But… but that would mean staying here. Dying. "I want to live, Korra," she repeated. Drowning in fantasies was just as bad as drowning in grief. You died either way.

Korra transformed into Mako, and her mother vanished to be replaced by Wu and Tu and all the others. They smiled at her. "Love is life," Mako said. "Remember the people you've lost, but the love you have for them transforms into new love and that's what's important. You've lost some people but gained others. And that's a good thing. You and I are going to be happy."

She turned to where her father stood. He had not vanished, but there were more lines around his face, his beard was full, and his hair was completely gray. "Dad?" Asami asked dumbly. "Why are you still here? And why do you look like that?"

"The same reason Korra looked like that. This is how I am now, and I am not gone. And you still love me."

"No, no. I don't." Asami felt as if she had been hollowed out. She had already had to tell Korra goodbye—again—and her father was still trying to worm his way back into her life. "You tried to kill me."

"Yes I did." He hung his head. "And I'm sorry. I would take it back if I could. I can't, any more than he could take back the things he has done." He nodded towards Tarrlok. "Why can you forgive him and not me?"

"Because—because—" Asami twisted her hands in her hair. "Because you broke my heart and he didn't!" Her voice was rough and raw, but Asami didn't care. "You loved your hatred more than you loved me. I had my first real friends in years, and all you saw was benders." She buried her face in her hands. "Why couldn't you have stayed like you were before? Teaching me how to build things and reading me stories?"

"Because I was a fool. I don't know if I can ever give up this hate, but I love you enough to try. And you still love me a little."

"No. I can't." If she still loved him, if she provided him the smallest gap in her armor, then he could break her heart.

 _Yes, he could,_ Dizang said. _To love someone is to let them hurt you. But it seems like he's already doing a fine job of hurting you. Perhaps I should have used him for the first chakra._

"Asami," Tarrlok said quietly. "If it's any comfort, I still love Noatak. That doesn't mean I'll let him run roughshod. Loving your father, even speaking to him, isn't the same as pretending nothing happened and letting things carry on as they were before."

"But he could still hurt me." The words sounded hollow. Cowardly. Mako could hurt her. She might not even survive the night and she was whining about her father. She smiled sadly at him. "I don't know if we can ever have a relationship, but I do love you. Maybe once I get out of here, I can figure out what to do about that."

"I'd like that." He hugged her one last time. "I love you."

A chorus of voices took up the words. _We love you, Asami. We love you._ Her mother, aunts and uncles and cousins, she'd almost forgotten she had. And Korra the loudest of all. _I love you. Live your life. Make me proud. Escape this place. Free these spirits._

"Me? Isn't that an Avatar thing? Or something for a more spiritual person?"

 _I'm not here. You are. Asami, you were right. You aren't weak. And you're just going to keep getting stronger. You've never been one to stand by when injustice was going on. And this is the ultimate injustice. I believe in you. I love you._

"Well," Tarrlok said after several moments, "I see Avatar Korra still doesn't think small."

"No, she doesn't." Asami's legs were like gelatin and she braced herself against the wall to stay upright. Korra back and gone again. Admitting she loved her and having to give her up in the same breath. "I am so sick of losing people."

 _A human weakness,_ Dizang said. _Your lives are an endless cycle of love and grief. Even if all goes well, you will lose Mako or he will lose you. You will lose your father. You will lose Korra a second time, even as your friend. It would be cleaner and simpler not to love at all._

"But not the human thing. I'll take my chances. Because love is a motivator, too. Even the memory of love." Asami squared her shoulders."Korra wants me to find a way to free the others. I will."

 _Because she asked you to. How charmingly romantic. I wish you luck. You're going to need it. But first you must free yourself._

The prisoners behind the glass rose to their feet as if they were participating in a temple ceremony. Gama looked up at the ceiling and then blinked at Asami in confusion. "I thought I felt the Avatar's spirit for a moment."

"You did. Or at least I think you did."

"And she will come back? She will free us."

"No, but I will." Just three more chakras to go. And then she would be free.

 _Oh, you will be far more than free. There is no limit to what the spirit can do when freed of all constraints._ Dizang was back to his wise and kind self. _The Avatar can unlock the Avatar State, though few choose this path. An airbender can fly. What will you do with this power, I wonder?_

"Weren't you listening? I'm going to free these people."

 _Yes, yes. The noble, kind savior who braved the spirit world and freed the imprisoned souls. They'll write songs about you, I'm sure. Maybe make a mover. But what about after? I've seen into your heart, Asami. You aren't one to sit back with your boyfriend and rest on your laurels._

What would she do if she earned her survival here? What did it mean to be enlightened?

 _Power. Knowledge beyond anything you could have ever dreamed. You think yourself intelligent now, but the wisdom of one with clear chakras will make what you were before seem dull and cloddish. What will you do with it? I have made men and women queens and emperors. You could have that power. Even the Red Lotus would quake before you._

She and Tarrlok looked at each other. Ambition could be good, but the desire to rule could just as easily lead to task forces and curfews. Asami shook her head. "I'll go home." Finish rebuilding the city." Maybe with clear chakras, she would have the wisdom to finally realize her vision and integrate the material and spiritual worlds. She would find the strength to speak with her father and decide if a relationship with him was something she wanted. And she would be happy without regret.

"What a pathetic waste of enlightenment." Jingzi's voice was a metal hiss as she emerged from the shadows. The sound of her breathing filled the air until it was all Asami could hear. "You will prop up the world that is vile and corrupt. A world where the Red Lotus runs rampant, Zaheer can still fly, and a little girl's mother can still be murdered by a firebender."

Asami raised the electric glove. "I don't have time for your ranting." Her gaze darted around, searching for any sign of Amon. "Where's Amon?"

Jingzi gestured to the cells with her left hand. "Dizang sent him back to the cells. I don't know why. But it doesn't matter. I don't need him to defeat you." She circled around Asami. "I'll defeat you on my own. And when I do, I'll take your body. I'll free Amon." She laughed, and it was horrible to hear. "Can you imagine me in your body? All that wealth and power at my command?"

Asami could, and shuddered. Everything she had worked for destroyed. A monster wearing her face who would see the return of the Equalists. Asami would die before she let that happen. Her arm whipped outwards and she struck Jingzi in the sternum. The air chakra might deal with love and grief, but it also hurt when you hit it. She struck again.

Tarrlok moved his hand to send an ice spear Jingzi's way, but nothing happened. _No_ , Dizang said. _This is not a fight for him or his brother. Just the two of you. And the winner gets the body if you can make it the rest of the way._

Of course she couldn't get any actual help. That was fine. Asami aimed a knee at Jingzi's midsection. Jingzi blocked her with a forearm, and Asami staggered backwards. "We really shouldn't be fighting. You should hate them too. You do hate them."

"You don't know anything about me." That hatred was the difference between her and her father. She loved benders and bending. What Amon had wanted was monstrous. Removing a person's bending was no different than lobotomizing Asami because she was smart or crippling her.

 _And no different than what Aang did to Yakone and Ozai. Some people don't deserve their bending. Isn't that right?_

"Get out of my—" Jingzi used Asami's momentary distraction to tackle her and send her flying to the ground. Asami's head cracked against the stone floor. Tarrlok stood rooted to the spot, watching in silent horror. Pain slid over Asami's brain and there were spots behind her eyes. There was blood in her mouth. No. She would not fall here, not after enduring everything she had, not to a madwoman who wanted to resurrect everything Asami had spent her adult life fighting against. Asami groaned and forced herself up on her elbow just in time to see Jingzi descend on her.

All thoughts of grace and training fled. They scrapped on the floor like wild rat-dogs, kicking and elbowing and clawing anywhere they could get an opening. Asami's arms and legs burned with exertion and exhaustion. And through it all a single thought: she could not let Jingzi take what was hers. Asami twisted until she was the one on top. Now it was Jingzi's head hitting the stone, the sound of the metal ringing reverberating throughout the maze. Asami hit her again, and her helmed face was the one knocked to the side. Asami flinched. The metal was harder than it looked. She ripped the helm away.

It was her own face staring back at her, bloodied and bruised but undeniable. And for the second time since her capture, Asami's mind went completely blank. That…Jingzi was...

"I'm you," Jingzi finished for her. Her voice was choked with blood, but it was Asami's voice as she had heard it in newsreels and recordings. "Or at least the you that isn't weak and lying to herself." Her laugh was a rattle. "You fear them even as you love them because for every Korra and Mako, there are a hundred Zaheers and Unalaqs. A world of powers beyond our comprehension where we mere mortals have no chance."

Asami found her voice. "Shut up." This wasn't real, just another one of Dizang's illusions. "You aren't me."

But Jingzi only laughed again. "I'm youin a world where a coin comes down head instead of tails. Where a father dies instead of a mother." She touched Asami's temple and Asami saw. Her father's body, charred and blackened until he was only recognizable by his gold rimmed glasses. Watching as her mother cowered every time someone said the words _Agni Kai._ Standing helpless as Ping and Viper mugged the servants who had raised her. Someone shoving a pamphlet into her hand, saying "this is the solution." Hearing Amon for the first time and thinking they might be right. Amon's mask coming off, revealing a handsome face. An equal at last. Him on his knees before her, telling her just enough truth that she felt special. Fleeing for her life as the revolution crumbled around her. A spirit rising out of the water. And then finally, mercy. She found her beloved in the maze and it was her turn to offer salvation.

Asami recoiled. It couldn't be that easy to become the thing she hated. The slightest difference meant she would be standing in her father's place. Letting Amon touch her. Bile mingled with blood in her mouth. She had tried so hard to be good and mostly succeeded. Because of who she was. _Because you spent more time with tutors that with your father, and they raised you properly._ She couldn't tell if the voice inside her head was Jingzi's or her own conscience.

Jingzi continued. "You could make a world without the Red Lotus. Rip Zaheerr's bending from him. A world without gods where no one ever need live in fear. You and I aren't so different. You could make the world safe for ordinary people. You want to."

"Not on your terms."

"But you do want it. You do fear them."

Asami closed her eyes. She had been afraid of Zaheer as she had been afraid of the dark spirits. And, yes, she hated him for stealing Korra's mind away. Why had he been given that power when so many good men and women were helpless? Her fingers tingled. If what Dizang said was true, maybe she would have that power when this was done. To make things just. Equal.

But no. "Maybe I could have been you. But I'm not. I made a choice not to let that fear control me. I'm sorry you didn't." She touched Jingzi's forehead and the girl vanished.

She stood slowly and looked at the unfrozen Tarrlok. He was staring at her with a mixture of shock, horror and sympathy. "You… that girl…Noatak."

"Tell me about it," Asami said because really, what else could she say? That could have been her life. She still couldn't quite wrap her head around it. Some slightly different circumstances would have made her everything she hated.

 _Indeed, my student. The greatest lie we tell ourselves is that we are good by our own effort. Any man can be corrupted given the right circumstances. And the more brilliant the man, the more terrible the fall. So do be careful of the power when it comes. If it comes._

Asami's steps were heavy. Two more chakras to go. Almost there.

So why did it feel as if the tests were just beginning?


	4. Part Four

Tarrlok moved his finger in front of Asami's eyes. "You don't have a concussion, so that's something."

Asami gingerly touched the lump on the back of her head. That she would have to worry about concussions and thirst when she was a disembodied spirit made no sense, but very little made sense here. They had stopped to rest in what seemed to be the remain of an old library, shelves of scrolls and even books stretching as far as the eye could see in any direction. It might have rivaled Wan Shi Tong's collection. Asami didn't know. Every time she had tried to read, the words had moved around on the page. She frowned. "I have a headache. Why have all this—" She gestured at the stacks. "—but no way to read it?"

Tarrlok shrugged. "For all I know, figuring out how to read them is how a prisoner unlocks their light chakra. But since no illusions are trying to kill us or drive us insane, I rather doubt it."

"The light chakra deals with insight and is blocked by illusion," she recited. "See, I'm learning. But what kind of insight?" She took a sip of water. The water skin was becoming dangerously close to empty. "The insight I would like is how to get out of this prison, but I doubt it's that simple."

 _Or maybe it is. I think it's time you met another of my students._

Asami stood and readied herself. Her head hurt and her arms and legs were still sore, but she wasn't going to go down without a fight.

 _Calm down. Not every meeting with my students involves you punching each other. He's a Fire Sage, or Fire Lord or whatever you humans are calling the title now. Rather eccentric for a man who was supposed to lead the nation._ Asami could almost see Dizang's smirk. _I'll send for him. In the meantime, Tarrlok, you really should discuss that thing that's making you nervous._

Tarrlok blanched, and Asami narrowed her eyes. "What's making you nervous?"

"Other than an insane spirit trying to drive a wedge between us? Nothing." But there was the slightest tremor in his voice, just as there had been when she and the others came to confront him about Korra.

"Tarrlok…"

"Fine." He sighed wearily. "The seventh chakra. I don't know if you can open it. I don't know if anyone can open it in a day. The thought chakra deals with nothing less than the cosmic energy of the universe."

"I think I can almost feel it, at least from the neck down." Asami closed her eyes. Beneath the pain she could feel currents rushing under her body as if she were a mighty river. Power and knowledge and peace all mingled together. Her own energy that she could almost but not quite touch. Was this how Korra had felt all the time?

"If you're feeling it, it's like touching something with heavy gloves. Muffled. To truly unlock that energy and the last chakra, you must let go of all earthly attachments. And that is a very difficult thing to do. Avatar Aang couldn't do it, and when he tried, he got hit with lightning in the back for his trouble."

"I see. And you don't think I'm capable of letting go of my attachments?"

"I think there's a reason most sages are old and not young people with family and friends. Guru Pathik described opening the chakra as letting what attached you to the world flow down the river of energy, forgotten."

"I see," Asami repeated, her lips pursed into a thin line. She thought of Mako and Wu and Mako's family. If there was any truth to her visions, they were crowded around her, desperately hoping for her soul to return. She thought of Future Industries. She had worked so hard to rebuild it and to make sure that her family legacy was something more than hatred. And she thought of Korra in her self-imposed exile in the South who would never know how she was inspiring Asami even now. To become indifferent to them was monstrous, inhuman. "That can't be what it means. Pathik was wrong."

Tarrlok raised an eyebrow. "Are you lecturing me on spiritual matters? Have you decided you don't need a guru after all?"

"Sorry." Asami shrank back. "But caring about things and people can't be bad. All four of the last Avatars have been married. They had complete control of the Avatar State, so there must be some other way."

"The only reason Aang had control of the Avatar State was because he hit a lucky rock." Tarrlok scowled. "And considering where Kuruk's romantic attachments led him, I wouldn't use him as an example if I were you."

He had a point, but Pathik's teachings made her recoil. It wasn't fear or selfishness, but something deeper. Something she recognized. "That kind of indifference is evil. My father wanted me to call evil good once. I wouldn't do it then. I won't do it now."

 _So you trust in your conscience more than the wisdom of a teacher?_

"I suppose I do." She had been taught right from wrong, even if her experiences in the maze had taught her how fragile her morals could be and how far she had yet to go. "I would be revolted by myself and it's myself I would have to answer to, not Guru Pathik. And you claim yourself a teacher, but your idea of teaching is imprisoning souls. So yes, I'd rather trust my conscience."

 _The existence of my other students truly infuriates you, doesn't it? Still planning on carrying out the Avatar's wishes and freeing them?_

"She seems to think I can." And Asami would reward that faith. "I thought you said you had another student for me to meet," she said, anxious to get on with whatever madness lay in store.

"Other students?" asked an old voice coming from the door. The man who entered wore Fire Nation robes that had been grand once, but were now dirty. His hair was long and unkempt. But it was his face that held Asami's attention. Unlike everyone else she had seen here, his face was wise and kind, his wrinkles as much from smiling as from age. "I suppose Sifu Dizang would consider me a student. Once a student, always a student. My name is Ren. I am the librarian here."

"Librarian?" Asami perked up. "Do you know how to read these books? Is there anything that might help us get out of here?"

"Of course I know how to read the books, my dear. I would be a very bad librarian if I didn't. As for getting out of here, there are books on all sorts of subjects. But why would you want to leave?"

Asami looked at him in disbelief. "Aren't you a prisoner here?"

"Oh, no, I was one of Dizang's pupils. I was the Fire Lord. But even as the chief of the sages and responsible for the whole nation, I had doubts about the path I should take. Dizang helped me. I found myself much happier contemplating spiritual matters than I ever was dealing with the burdens of ruling, so I chose to remain here. It is a place of peace and reflection."

Asami swallowed to keep her from voice rising. "Peace and reflection? Do you not see how the other people here are suffering? They didn't come here by choice and now Dizang's driving them crazy rather than letting them move on. I have to get them out. I have to get myself out and I have to do it before a day and a night have passed in the material world. Or I'll die." She extended her hand to him. "Please, if you know something, help me."

Ren's smile slipped. "I have seen them. Sifu Dizang has become bitter over the millennia and his methods more harsh. But there are none here who cannot leave. It is their own natures that keep them here. They were already imprisoned and required a light to show them the way."

"Not another—" Asami stopped as she processed what Ren had said. Millennia. He had been here for millennia. And it had been that long since the Fire Lord had been head of the sages and not a monarch. A cool, tingling excitement washed over her. "You know how long you've been here. The strangeness of this place doesn't affect you."

"I have been here three thousand years, two hundred and nineteen days, seven hours, and twelve minutes. You have been here twenty-one hours and four minutes. The dilation and expansion of time is meant to remove distractions. Those who have opened their chakras don't need it and perceive all here as it truly is."

"They see through illusions."

"One might even say that they have insight. They can enter and leave this place at will and help others to do so." The hint of a smile was back on his lips. "And the books were of great help to me. All manner of spiritual tomes."

"Then teach me!" It took every bit of restraint Asami had not to grab his sleeve. She had less than three hours left and the key to her freedom was right there.

But Ren shook his head. "I would rather teach you to read one of the tomes on metallurgy and discuss that. It has been so long since we had a woman of science as a guest. And this may help you with your… rail project, was it?"

It took a few moments for Asami to register what he'd said and a few moments after that for her to compose her voice into a polite sweetness. "If you'd be so kind, I would like to see the books on unlocking my light chakra." The rail system was irrelevant if she couldn't survive to return to it. And that meant convincing this man to help her.

"You do not wish to learn?" Ren sounded sad.

"No, I do. Just not about that. I already know a lot about metal, but not much about spirits and chakras. And spirits and chakras and how to leave this place are what I need to know right now."

Ren tutted. "You do not wish to learn for the sake of learning? But that is what science is all about! Only a low, common engineer would care about whether it was useful. As long as you're studying some new text, it hardly matters what the text is."

 _I am an engineer._ Ren might be kinder than his master, but they clearly thought along the same crooked lines. She looked over at Tarrlok for guidance.

But Tarrlok was smiling. "Oh, read the book, Asami. I could always stand to learn more about proper steelmaking." But after Ren turned away for a moment, he mouthed, "It's a test."

A test. Of course. She had been so impatient and so desperate when she learned how little time she had left that she hadn't seen what was right in front of her. Asami bowed. "I would be honored to learn which you have to teach."

Ren beamed at her. "Excellent! I understand you've developed quite a use for platinum in your world, so we'll start with that." He pulled a book from the shelves seemingly at random and flipped it to the midpoint. "Ah, here we are." He pointed to the swirling text. "Begin reading."

Asami squinted. As before, she could only catch a few words before the characters shifted into gibberish. "Heat. Cutting. Quickly." She frowned and stared harder. "I'm sorry, I can't."

"Take a deep breath and calm yourself. As you read, think about the information you hope to gain, not the words on the page. Think about making a saw that will cut through platinum more quickly."

"Why would I want that?" Shaping and cutting platinum was usually precision work, the duration of the task determined more by the dexterity of the operator than the speed of the tools.

"Because I was hoping for you to help with a statue before you go?" Ren flushed sheepishly. "Humor an old man."

A test. This was a test. It didn't matter whether he wanted her to learn about cutting platinum or collecting coins. So long as she learned. "All right." Asami concentrated on the image of a saw that was twice as fast as the ones Future Industries used. And as before the words danced along the page. But this time, they didn't stay on the page. They fluttered up towards Asami like dragon-butterflies and brushed her skin with light, silky touches. Images flashed in Asami's mind of construction techniques she had never heard of and would have called madness. The way to angle and power the blade just so. The cutting saw in her head was two seconds faster. And she knew step-by-step how to build it as if she had designed the blueprints herself.

"Amazing," she whispered. "I just knew. It was in my head. Are all the books like this?"

"If you are willing to learn, they are. You think of the Spirit World and the material world as separate realms with separate rules. But the engineer is not so different from the mystic. A mind of gears and switches is still fit for spiritual matters. If you wish to learn, truly learn about the world, these books will show you. There's no such thing as worthless knowledge. There may come a day when you are grateful for that saw." He shrugged. "Or perhaps I'm just an old man distracting you from your work. Who can say?"

Who could say, indeed? "Tell me where I can find what I need—er, what I should learn about this place? How I can understand it?"

Ren only smiled and handed her a scroll. The parchment was almost impossibly old, but the characters were as clear and dark as if they had been written yesterday. They danced and swirled along the page and lifted towards Asami. _Imprisonment is an illusion brought about by our passions and fear. To see all as it truly is to be free. Forget the illusions that cause you to seek what cannot be. In helping others find the truth, you will find your own freedom._

The library changed before her eyes. What had been decrepit was now antique but clearly well cared for. The air was sweet and fresh. The angles of the wall seemed almost natural. And… and the exit was not far. A few hundred yards.

"You see?" 'Ren asked. "This is only a place of madness for those who cannot see clearly."

"It looks the same as ever," Tarrlok said with a frown.

"No it doesn't." How to make him see? Jingzi had shown Asami her memories of the alternate world with a mere touch. Maybe Asami could do the same. Korra had said the Spirit World was weird. She put a finger to Tarrlok's temple. The information seemed to pour out of her like a waterfall and she saw the light of recognition in Tarrlok's eyes.

He blinked. "It was that simple all this time?" he whispered. "All I ever had to do was walk out?"

 _The truth is rarely so simple, my students._ Dizang's voice was ice in her mind. _I will not let the others leave easily. Or you. It would be better if this place were destroyed and the souls with it then for you to give them a shortcut to enlightenment._

The ground rumbled beneath her feet and Asami lost her balance.

"Sifu Dizang is angry," Ren said as if he were telling them Dizang wanted tea. "If you wish to teach the others, I would do so quickly. Or you could escape and leave them to find their own path."

"No, I can't. Not yet." If she could show this to Tarrlok, she could show it to the others. "Can you help me?"

Tarrlok nodded. "Against my better—" He was cut off by another rumble.

Asami ran back to the cells. Dozens of other prisoners were shouting and screaming as the walls shook around them. "What's going on?" one of them screamed over the din. "What have you done to anger the master?"

"Figured out a way to get you free." She looked at Tarrlok. "I'll take the left side, you take the right."

She tried the nearest door. It swung open easily. The boy in front of her couldn't have been more than fifteen. Bile rose in her throat. Dizang was a monster, but his reign of terror ended today. She knelt before the boy and tried to make her voice as soft and gentle as she could. "Do you want to get out of here?"

He nodded.

"Then will you let me help you?"

Another nod, and Asami touched his temple. As before, the knowledge flowed out of her. The boy's face transformed. His features were no longer twisted, but composed into a wary, almost astonished, hopefulness. He stood up and walked out of the cell. Asami moved on. Prisoner after prisoner received what she had been given. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Tarrlok doing the same. And yet, as fast as they worked, it never seemed quite fast enough. The school crumbled around them. Masonry blocked some paths and opened others. Soon there would be nothing left.

Asami opened another cell door and came face-to-face with Amon. His blue eyes were cold and furious. "Asami. You took Jingzi from me."

"Yes, I did." She took a step into the cell. "But I can help you get out of here, if you'll let me."

 _Unbelievable. You would help this monster? The man who corrupted your father and conspired to steal your soul? He doesn't deserve reincarnation. Whatever torments he receives here are a just punishment._

There was a small, dark part of her that agreed. If not for Amon, there would never have been an Equalist revolution. Her father would still have been a bigot, but he might have quietly stewed in his hatred forever unstead of doing all he had. And Amon had bloodbent her. He wasn't the slightest bit sorry for any of it. He deserved… He deserved…

Asami took a deep breath. "It's not a matter of deserving." Asami twisted as a stone fell from the ceiling. "Souls reincarnate. It's not for me or for you to decide what kind of life he has after he leaves."

"I will have my old life. I will complete the revolution. This is just a temporary setback." He spat at the ground. "You want me to start over as some mewling helpless infant. Or worse, an animal. No thank you."

"I want you to stop suffering." In some alternate universe, she had loved this man so much that she had found him her and endured this torment for him. As she would have for Korra. "I know what it is to love someone and lose them. You will never get your old life back. But you can start over. And if Jingzi really is me, then she would rather you be free than in pain. Maybe in your next life, you'll be the politician who brings democracy to the Earth Kingdom or the Fire Nation. You might have a husband or wife and a family that loves you. But you won't know until you get out of here."

Tarrlok came to stand beside her. "She's right, brother. You asked me to start a new life with you once. Give it to me now." He extended his hand. "Please. If you ever loved me, please."

"I did love you. Both of you." His features smoothed and Asami could almost see the boy Korra and Tarrlok had described: the kind, goodhearted child who had always looked out for his little brother. Who could have helped save the world if he had not been twisted by self-hatred. He could still be that. Asami found herself holding her breath.

But then his eyes hardened and he was Amon again. "You were weak. I will find my own way out and I will find Jingzi and I will prove you wrong!"

Tarrlok shook his head. "The cure for your madness is right here. I didn't believe there was hope before or I would have dragged you from the maze myself. But there is hope." And before Asami could say or do anything, he put his finger to Amon's temple. For a moment, nothing happened. And then they both screamed. Tarrlok clutched his hand as if he had been burned.

 _Didn't Ren tell you? The prisoners enslaved themselves. Those willing to be free only ever required someone to teach them and lead them out. But those who will not even admit their own weakness are lost. Even the wisest guru cannot force enlightenment against someone's will. But you have larger problems. If you stay here, you will die._

"He's right," Tarrlok said dully. "You should go."

"No," Asami said softly. "We should. Everything I said goes double for you. Don't condemn yourself a second time." When he didn't respond, she turned his head to look at her. "Staying here won't save him."

Tarrlok closed his eyes. The silence seemed to stretch on endlessly, every moment longer than the last. But when he opened them he said, "Goodbye Noatak. I hope you do find your way out someday." He took Asami's hand, turned around, and walked out. The door vanished and was replaced by a stone wall.

Outside was chaos. Rubble was strewn in all directions. Some of the prisoners were hurrying over the stones. Others were still cowering, afraid of whatever fate awaited those who suffered mortal injury. And above the din were Dizang's horrible roars.

 _You think you've won, but just how far are you willing to go?_

Asami ran on. It was hot, almost as hot as it had been in the gallery. "Come on! Come on!" she shouted. "We're almost there!" There were only a few minutes left. She had to hurry. _I can do this. I'm not weak. Tarrlok was right. I've earned my freedom. All of our freedoms._

And there it was. The exit. Another set of polished bronze doors, barely cracked. Even through that tiny opening, she could see the soft, golden light of the Spirit World. From there, her body and all that she loved was merely a thought away.

The floor erupted and Asami understood why it was so hot. Where there had been a clear path before, there was only a pool of lava. "Now what?"

"We find a way across," Asami said. She was so close to victory. She would not be denied now. She pointed to two burly prisoners near the front. "You, grab the biggest rocks you can find. Together, we should be able to build a makeshift bridge across."

"It'll take too long! You'll be dead before we finish!"

"I don't see a better way out. Do you?" Even a small chance was better than no chance.

"Oh, you don't even have a small chance." Dizang's voice sounded different. No longer coming from inside her head, but very close by. "I still have power over this place. Whatever bridge you build, I will destroy."

"He's bluffing," Asami said. "He wants us to give into despair. Just like always. Get the rocks."

The other prisoners quivered. "But what if Dizang hurts us?" the boy asked.

"He is already hurting us." Tarrlok's voice was strong and clear. "His weapons are what they've always been: our own fear and ignorance. We have a chance to fight back and do what we wanted to do when our hearts called Dizang to us. We can become more than we were. We can be the spirits who escaped the mighty Dizang. I for one am tired of being a coward."

A cheer went up among the prisoners, and the two she had ordered started grabbing rocks. Asami stared. "You really are a good politician."

"I'm glad you finally appreciate my particular brilliance, Ms. Sato."

The bridge was about halfway done when Dizang stepped into view. What must have been his brow was furrowed in concentration as he lifted his hand. Some of the other prisoners shrank back at his approach. "I…I told you I could sink the bridge." And as his arms slowly rose higher, the stones began to sink into the lava.

No. No. Not when they were so close to escape. There had to be a way to stop him.

 _There is._ It was Korra's voice in her head, not Dizang's. _You see how much effort it's taking him to do that? It's one thing for him to torture you in pursuit of his "lessons" no matter how crazy they are. But this is spite. It's not what he was meant to be, so it's taking more effort. If you can find a way to distract him, then you should be able to finish the bridge. Of course, someone will have to be the distraction._

Right. Someone. And there were only two of them who weren't too terrified to face Dizang directly. She looked at Tarrlok, frantically urging the prisoners to add more stones. Without him, they would turn back into a disorganized mass and there would be no bridge at all. It had to be her.

 _That makes you the last one out. If you get out at all. You won't have enough time before you…_ Korra swallowed audibly. _Are you willing to die for these people?_

Asami froze. Death. That was what this would mean. At best, she would be stuck in the Spirit World like Iroh. At worst, she would be trapped here with a very angry Dizang. Little ice picks burrowed under her skin and hollowed her out. She had risked death many times before, but it was different when the certainty of it was staring her in the face. She was going to die and for the sake of people who wouldn't even remember her once they were free. Tears of anger and frustration stung her eyes. It was all so bitterly unfair. She had endured so much here just to cling to life. And now she was asked to give it up.

But when had life ever been fair for her? A memory came. The day her father had offered her the electric glove. She had been terrified. Not because she didn't know what to do but because she did. It had cost her her father, her money, everything she had ever known. She had eaten swill while trapped in the sewers. And in return, her boyfriend had left her for another girl and she had been handed a nearly bankrupt company. And Korra… Korra had given her mind and body for the sake of the Air Nation. Asami couldn't do less. "Korra, is this still part of your dream?"

 _Yeah. A really weird dream. I think the sea prune stew I had last night went bad._

"Then, when you wake up, I want you to promise yourself that you'll come home to all the people that love you. They still miss you. I still miss you. Promise me you'll come back. I'm just sorry I won't be there when you do."

 _I will._

Asami stood straighter and charged her glove. There was only one thing left to do. "Hey Dizang!" And with that she threw herself at him. Dizang shouted in surprise and Asami saw the rocks begin to rise out of the lava.

She had won. The others would be free. And Asami would take what came after that.

Fire coursed over and through Asami. She felt suddenly light, as if a heavy weight had fallen from her shoulders. She opened her eyes. Dizang was beneath her. But it was not the Dizang who had kidnapped her. It was the Dizang of the portraits. Dizang with the kind smile and vibrant colors. "Well done!"

Asami rolled off him, dazed. The entryway had been repaired. The doors were open, and the light of the Spirit World shone freely. The others were looking at her in wonder. "What just happened?"

"Look at yourself and tell me, my student."

Asami looked down at her hands. They seemed…brighter than they were before. More real. As if she were suffused with cosmic energy. "I unlocked my thought chakra. But how? I didn't meditate or let go of my earthly attachments or anything."

Dizang laughed, and it was a real laugh. "The core of attachment is selfishness. There's nothing more unselfish than to give one's life for the sake of compassion. I have spent centuries looking for such a one as you."

"So this was, what, just another test?"

"Life is a test. And if you had failed, you would have gone as mad as the rest. And yes, you would have died." He gestured at the prisoners. "They had to be purged. For those who are willing, this will only have been a brief delay, the ripening of all they had earned in one life expunged now rather than over a thousand lifetimes. It was meant to be a mercy. It seems the humans disagreed. But one of their own had to be the one to lead them out. I simply had to find the right one and provide the fuel."

A test. It had all been a test. She was going to faint. Or explode.

"No you're not. Or I really will think humans are weak if even those who are fit to be gurus are incapable of standing on their own two feet."

Tarrlok hauled her up. Asami blinked. He too had changed. He was no longer disheveled. His hair was back in its braids and his suit was shiny and new. He looked, she thought, exactly as he had the night of the party he had held for Korra so long ago. "Thank you. You set me free."

"And you set me free. I would have been lost without you." She pulled him into a hug. Her enemy. Her teacher. Her friend.

Tarrlok pulled back, embarrassed. "Yes, that's quite enough of that. Some of us have a new life to get to." He smiled at her. "But first, let's get you home."


	5. Coda

Asami's pen moved across the paper in quick, fluid strokes. She had been out of the hospital for two days, and it was a relief to be working again. Her body was exhausted from her brush with death, but her mind had never stilled. Everywhere she turned, she saw connections that she would have deemed impossible just a few days ago. The rail system was back on track and her mind was already brimming with ideas for a suit that could replace the airbenders' gliders. Technology assisting the most spiritual of all bending arts. Just as it was meant to be.

Mako walked in. He smiled when he saw her, and if his smile was a little more relieved than before, so was Asami's. She had been willing to die for Tarrlok and the others, but now that she had her life, she was going to be grateful for it and share it with those she loved who were still here. She put her pen aside and rose to kiss him. He was solid and warm and his breath smelled of coffee and aftershave. Mundane things after her adventures in the Spirit World, but the sort of things she could build a life around.

"Grandma Yin wants to make sure you're coming over for lunch. She's making her famous dumplings." He rubbed the back of his neck like he did when he was evading.

But this time there were no affairs or dark secrets lurking in the shadows. Asami smiled at him. "And this is when they'll throw me that 'surprise party' that Wu and Tu couldn't keep quiet about?"

"Just try to act surprised."

Asami pecked him on the lips. "Of course."

The sorts of things she could build a life around, indeed.

She sobered. "There's just one more thing I have to do first. Did you have them bring the car around?"

He nodded. "Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?"

"Maybe another time. This first visit… I think it's better if I went alone." She had made a promise in the Spirit World, and the knowledge and understanding she had gained there was less than nothing if she didn't use it here.

The Republic City Prison was a squat, ugly building near the city limits. Asami submitted to the inspection of her person and belongings in silence, though she noticed the guard stared as she examined her. But eventually the guard nodded and ushered her into a room with a plain metal table and two hard chairs. Asami took a deep breath. She had faced down spirits and rescued souls. She could do this.

Her father looked exactly as he had in her vision. Prison had not been kind to him, and it was hard to believe that this was the same man who had sent mecha tanks against her. His hands were shaking. "Asami? You came? They told me you had almost died. Something about a spirit and—" There were tears in his eyes.

"It's all true. And while I was in the Spirit World, I realized some things. Like the fact that I still love you. I don't know if I can quite forgive you, but I'd like to talk."

"Me too."

Her smooth hand covered his gnarled one. Just the lightest of touches, but it was a start."And Dad? You asked me what a mere mortal could do? The answer is anything."


End file.
